Power semiconductor modules in motor vehicles typically have a plurality of power semiconductor chips and are used as switching units for current converters, such as rectifiers or pulsewidth-modulated inverters. In partially or completely electrically driven motor vehicles, a power semiconductor module can be used, for example, for producing a multi-phase alternating current from the output voltage of a high-voltage battery or for converting an alternating current to a charging direct current for a high-voltage battery. Power semiconductor chips heat up substantially thereby and have to be cooled in order to prevent any damage.
It is known to arrange the power semiconductor chips on a cooling element, which is designed, for example, as a solid metal block, in particular one made of aluminum, and has, for example, bored, cast, or milled cooling channels. A liquid coolant circulates through the cooling channels, which dissipate the heat from the liquid coolant because of the thermal coupling of the cooling element to the power semiconductor chips. In order to prevent any contact of the liquid coolant with the power semiconductor chips, high requirements are placed on the leaktightness of liquid coolant feed lines to the cooling element. In this case, the use of special seals for the liquid coolant feed lines and the use of electrically insulating liquid coolants, such as insulating oil are especially costly. The thermal coupling of the power semiconductor chips to the cooling element occurs, in addition, only via a long heat transfer path from the power semiconductor chips by way of a support plate, which, for example, is made of plastic, a ceramic substrate, or another support material, for example, a ceramic substrate, and a thermally conducting pad or a thermally conducting paste, thereby detrimentally inhibiting the heat transfer.